The present invention relates to processing treatment of waste from domestic livestock and poultry operations and in particular to an integrated system for efficiently capturing and processing waste material from domestic livestock and poultry operations including methane gas which has been estimated to makeup about one fifth of recognized green house gas effects.
Domestic livestock and poultry operations in the United States produce a substantial portion of the food regularly consumed by the pubic. Unfortunately, these operations also produce significant waste which must be dealt with, and significant odors not appreciated by local residents. Until the present time, no large scale systems have been developed to deal efficiently with these waste products.
Further, both sheep and cows are ruminant animals. Ruminant animals include a rumen, a special stomach which allows them to digest plants not normally digestible. Enteric fermentation takes place in the rumen producing methane gas. The methane gas is later released to the atmosphere. Methane gas traps much more heat than carbon dioxide and may linger in the atmosphere over a decade. Scientists have estimated that methane gas is responsible for one fifth of greenhouse warming. Unfortunately, no effective solution has been provided to capture the methane gas released by cows, sheep and other ruminant animals.